And now for yet another fancy French cooking term that will undoubtedly boost your culinary street cred when dropped casually in conversation. Mirepoix (pronounced meer-uh-pwa) is a mix of coarsely chopped onions, carrots and celery – the holy trinity of French cuisine. Many soups, sauces, stews, stocks and other dishes begin with mirepoix as a building block of flavor. Other ingredients like bacon, ham or even turnips can be added to the mix for specific dishes, but a traditional mirepoix consists of 2 parts onion, 1 part each of carrots and celery.

Note: Mirepoix is not to be confused with the creole holy trinity of onions, green bell peppers and celery or what many would argue are the true trinity of French cooking — butter, cream and shallots.